Villanova’s NCAA National Championship Buzzer-Beater Victory Sends Social Media Into a Frenzy

NBA icon and former Tar Heels basketball player Michael Jordan was in the crowd on Monday night for a thrilling NCAA National Championship showdown between North Carolina and Villanova.

He was also all over Twitter in the form of the infamous “crying Jordan” meme after his college team was beaten by the Wildcats 77- 74 in the game played at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, and airing on TBS.

Kris Jenkins hit a three-point shot to give Villanova their first championship in 31 years — and the NCAA its first buzzer-beater win since Lorenzo Charles and N.C. State in 1983. It was also number one seed UNC’s first loss in a title game since 1981, having previously won four straight.

Also Read: Fox News Slam Dunks March Madness in Cable RatingsAfter battling neck-and-neck most of night, the Villanova-UNC matchup was already being touted as the best NCAA Championship game in history before the fans — some celebrating and others devastated — had left the stadium.“I was just shocked,” Villanova coach Jay Wright marveled. “They did it.”

But back to Twitter, which obviously went as wild at the sell-out crowd when the championship-winning shot swooshed through the hoop.“Crying Jordan” dominated the Twitterverse — with former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck tweeting even about it — but the Villanova tearful piccolo player from last year also made an appearance, along with countless expressions of sheer jubilance, utter heartbreak or just plain shock at the brillia nce of the game.

Justin Timberlake, who is a very vocal Memphis basketball fan tweeted simply wrote: “That game… WOW.”Olympic athlete Lolo Jones pointed out that this was “the only time the crying Michael Jordan face meme has been appropriate in the last year.”Also Read: Michigan State's Shocking March Madness Loss Sparks Social Media MayhemPerhaps the most interesting celebrity Twitter reaction came from Geraldo Rivera, who said: “#CarolinaPanthers didn’t lose #NationalChampionship #Villanova won it.”Although technically he was right, we’re pretty sure Rivera meant the North Carolina Tar Heels — rather than the NFL team led by Cam Newton who recently lost the Super Bowl.